Page 6 - MidWeek Central - June 16, 2021

6 JUNE 16, 2021
Eatery With Ties To Central And West O‘ahu Leaves Some Lasting Impressions
FROM PAGE 1
“We are self-taught home cooks from our parents. We didn’t go to culinary school. We were brought up in the restaurant since elementa- ry. We walked from August Ahrens Elementary School to our mom’s store every day after school,” reminisces Mellissa. “We were always at the restaurant and helped out including caterings. The quote ʻstart ʻem young’ is true to our family.”
years. During the height of Theo and Elena Butuyan’s career, they opened five lo- cations, but when the chil- dren took over they consol- idated to one site.
ers keep their bonds strong. “Our family loves to be together, travel, eat, and take care of our parents,” Mellis-
for four decades. Elena’s is the oldest Filipino restaurant on O‘ahu,” adds Mellissa.
sa declares.
The year 1974 saw events
The company, with about 20 employees, loves and supports the community, Mellissa adds.
For example, since early on the pandemic, the com- pany became a part of the Show Aloha Challenge to provide free meals to feed kūpuna, and also gave back to the community with cam- paigns to feed hungry fami- lies and health care workers.
“We want to thank all our customers for supporting us the last 47 years,” a grateful Mellissa concludes when re- flecting on her eatery’s story.
In fact, she emphasizes that Elena’s places a priority on supporting fellow small businesses and buying lo- cal, along with always being kind, generous and taking care of people.
Elena’s offered family packs and monthly specials, which have proven to be a big hit, Mellissa notes.
Adrian Cedillo at work in Elena’s. PHOTO COURTESY ELENA’S RESTAURANT It’s Time to Beat the Heat!
Mellissa says she’s grate- ful for her hardworking employees, and she loves seeing new generations of customers because “they warm our hearts.”
“We have remained take- out and it’s working. Our loyal customers took to heart ‘support local’ and they came to support us. We are truly humbled,” she says.
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“We decided to focus on one restaurant and keep it great,” Mellissa explains.
such as an oil embargo and gasoline lines, George Ari- yoshi of Hawai‘i becoming the first Japanese-American governor and Richard Nixon resigning his presidency.
Elena’s has responded and adapted to the coronavirus crisis in an array of ways, she adds.
During this time, history was also being made in the small kitchen with a count- er and six stools in the old Nabarette Café in Waipa- hu where Elena and Theo Butuyan founded Elena’s Restaurant.
As far as future goals, Mellissa reveals that the plan is to stay small and keep to the firm’s roots.
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